"Khushi, we cannot tell this to Arnav. Atleast not now." Khalid finally spoke, breaking the huge silence between them. "Day after tomorrow is your wedding, one of the best days of your life. I don't want to disturb him. If this secret has remained hidden for so many years, it can wait for some time."
"I guess you are right." Khushi replied, nodding her head in approval. Just a few days ago, Arnav had come to know the truth about his mother and that itself had taken a huge toll on him. As usual, he hadn't been vocal about it, but she had noticed his agitation when he was asleep and knew that the nightmares had once again began to haunt him.
And there was another side to the story. Arnav had held a lot of reverence to Khalid Bhai. Would he be able to continue in the same way after the revelation? No, a precious relationship would be destroyed in the process. Whatever had occurred was only because of Abbas Malik, his biological father. So how could Khalid Bhai be blamed for it?
No, they needed some more time. Maybe she could reveal it to him after their honeymoon or atleast when things were settled. With Hari Kashyap on the verge of coming after Arnav, she couldn't compromise on their security and especially Arnav's life. Right now, only Khalid Malik was the solution for his protection.
"Very well then. I need to go now. Give these papers to him when he returns back. I'll see you soon, maybe at the court." Saying so, he quietly stood up and walked towards the door, without looking back at her. His sharp mind was already cooking up something.
A new piece of information, suddenly seemed vital amidst all these revelations and now, Khalid was restless to find out its significance.
o0o
Arnav reached home at around 8 in the evening. It was a long tiring journey back from Rohtak, during which he had made several pit stops to other places to arrange back up for tomorrow. So much was to be done in such a less time. But being influential in the Underworld had made several of his tasks easy.
He parked the car in front of the house and made his way to the door. Ringing the doorbell, he was greeted by an extremely worried Khushi.
"Arnav, where were you? I tried to call you several times during the day. And you had said you were going after Aman right? Where is he? What happened?" Khushi started demanding answers from him.
He deeply pondered about whether to inform her about his plans for tomorrow or not. If he told her, she would definitely be worried and panic. Instead, it was better to keep her in the dark. Day after tomorrow was their marriage and he wanted her to be happy and only concentrate on it. It wouldn't be fair on her to involve in matters which she hadn't signed up for, he decided.
"Oh! I had changed my Sim. Had some official work to do. I'm so sorry." He apologized reaching out to hug her. "But why were you calling me up? Any emergency?" he asked in a panicked tone.
Khushi thought about the earlier fiasco with Khalid. As it is, Arnav looked tired after a busy day out. Maybe this wasn't the perfect time to reveal it. Like she had decided earlier, it would be better to let the cat out of the bag after their honeymoon.
"Nothing much. Khalid Bhai had arrived to get some details and my signature. Here, take this." She said, going back to the table to pick up the form and hand it over to him. "He needs your sign and told to give it to some Rajesh at Lal Chowk."
"Fine, I'll do that right now." Arnav took the papers and signed it. "I'll return back in few minutes alright?" he said and turning around he walked back to his car.
Closing the door behind her, Khushi leaned back on it, holding her guilty heart that was rapidly beating. She had never hidden anything from him, ever before and now when she did, she wasn't sure whether it was the right thing to do.
Somewhere at the back of her head, she knew it would benefit everyone, especially Arnav and it wasn't like she was lying to him. Lying was different than concealing the facts.
But then, she was reminded about the hurt and betrayal she had felt when Arnav had concealed his reality from her and as the clock ticked, she only feared that he wouldn't feel the same way, this time.
o0o
Khalid sat in the confines of his bedroom as he smoked a cigar, letting the nicotine drown into his system. He was still reeling from the revelation that was now going to once again change his life, just like the time when he had come to know that Aarti had been murdered.
Once again, so many lives were connected to this equation. On one side was Arnav, who was going to be unpredictable. Khalid had no idea what would be his reaction hearing the truth.
On the other side was he himself. What was going to be his future after this? The truth was that he had already legally adopted Arnav as his son long time ago, something that was withheld from Arnav all these years. He had trusted Arnav so much that he had been the right candidate to look after all his business incase something happened to him.
But now, Arnav was more than a candidate. Suddenly, there existed an emotional bond between them. He was Aarti's son, the son of a woman he loved dearly even till this day, after her death. Would she be happy to know that he had unknowingly led her son into this hell?
Till this morning, he was confident that Arnav was capable of defending himself if someone attacked him. But right now, he dreaded the image of Arnav being shot down. Coz that would mean that he had failed his promise to Aarti to look after her son.
And then, there was Abbas.
Khalid closed his eyes, leaning on the head rest, while memories of him and his younger brother flashed his mind, certain memories that changed his entire life, his bond with his brother.
"Ammi!" A six year old Khalid came running to his mother, crying his eyes out. "See what Abbas has done." And he showed her his coloring book that was now shredded to pieces. "I hate him."
"My Bachcha, he's your younger brother. You are supposed to forgive him coz you are his elder brother. He is nave and that's why he does all these mistakes. But I'm sure you have a big heart and you can forgive him, can't you? And we will buy a new book for you." his mother said and the little boy nodded eagerly, pondering over his mother's words. Yes, he had a big heart and he could forgive his little brother and he could always get another book, but he couldn't get another Abbas.
***
"Baba, Bhaiyya hit me." A seven year old Abbas cried running to his father.
"Khalid, come here!" the father's voice boomed across the house and an eleven year old Khalid came running towards his father and before he knew it, he received a tight blow right behind his neck on his back. "Did you hit your younger brother?" the father asked furiously and slapped once more on the elder boy's back.
"He wanted my cycle and I refused. That's why he started hitting me. I hit him back." Khalid murmured, as the pain of the slap stung his back.
"You are grown up now. Still acting like a baby. I'll get you another cycle. Give yours to him. Dare you hit him once again. He's your younger brother. So it's your responsibility to look after him." His father had warned him sternly.
***
"The relations of blood are the strongest of them all." His mother had said, while both the boys rested their heads on her lap one fine afternoon. "Remember, that if you both remain united, no one can defeat you. You can reach great heights with this. Tomorrow, when neither me nor your Baba will be around you, you will have each other for support. Promise me that you both will forge a bond so strong that even the wind will fear to touch you." And the boys had looked up at her and nodded their heads.
"And you Khalid, must make sure whatever happens, you will never leave your younger brother's hand. Swear to me." his mother had asked.
"I promise you, Ammi. I will always stand by Abbas." Khalid had promised holding her hand to fulfill it till his last breath.
***
"You disgust me Abbas. How could you stoop so low? Aarti is missing. She ran away from her house." Khalid growled furiously, holding his younger brother's collar, a week after Aarti had come to him, announcing that she was pregnant with his child.
"What kind of a brother you are Bhaiyya?" Abbas had replied back. "You are supposed to support me. I'm hardly twenty one. What can I do if that girl is foolish enough to run away from her house? Baba will murder me, if he comes to know about it. Don't you value your brother's life?" As the words resounded in his ears, Khalid had let go of his brother's collar knowing that there was no point in arguing about it and he had angrily stomped out of the room, never to talk to him for the next five years.
***
"Khalid?"
"Ammi.." he had held her fragile hand as she lay on her deathbed.
"I don't know what happened between you brothers, but please forgive him. It will give my soul some peace to die knowing that you are there for each other. Give this mother one last wish." His mother had begged holding his hand.
"Ammi.." he had called out once again, as tears rolled down his eyes.
"Please?"
"Yes," he had nodded and hearing it, his mother had passed away peacefully beside him.
And keeping up his promise, Khalid had forgiven his brother for everything he had done to Aarti. And when he had met Aarti, two years later, he had taken it upon himself to rectify his brother's mistake and carry out his penance for hurting an innocent soul.
But alas, fate had other plans and everything had spun out of control, destroying everything in his life.
And now, it threatened to do the same thing all over again.
o0o
Arnav entered the bedroom, switching off all the lights of the house, getting ready to sleep and found Khushi sitting worriedly on the edge of the bed. Turning off the bedroom light, he walked towards her, getting accustomed to the darkness.
"Feeling nervous?" he asked, sitting beside her, pulling her to his chest.
"Yeah." Khushi replied without thinking and then corrected herself lest he sense something amiss. "A bit."
"I have a plan to remove all this nervousness out of your head." He said, stroking her back.
"What?" she asked confusedly, looking up at him, and he immediately bent down to capture her lips.
She smiled back as she let his hungry lips devour her completely, losing entirely in his desire as she let him take full control of her.
"Feeling a bit relieved now?" he asked, breaking apart to cup her face in his arms.
"A bit." She confessed, lowering her eyes to avoid his gaze, inspite of the darkness all around them.
"Want more?" he asked in his husky voice, as he rolled on top of the bed and pulled her along, making her sit on his lap. And Khushi nodded shyly, reaching out to stroke his hair and neck while he pulled down the zipper of her kameez.
Soon, he began to shower her neck with nibbles and kisses, trailing down his mouth hungrily over her soft mounds, while he continued to delicately stroke her arms and back, making her moan with pleasure. He didn't care what was awaiting his tomorrow. Tonight, he wanted to make love to the girl who was his life, to let her feel safe in his arms, to ease away all her burdens.
Khushi noticed the desire bubbling within him. At that moment, he seemed happy and relaxed, and all her doubts about withholding the truth from him vanished. For her, his happiness was all that mattered and she would do everything to be a good life partner to him. And keeping aside everything she surrendered herself to him.
For a second, he stilled as her nervous hands made their way to his pants and a wicked grin spread over his face. This one gesture was enough to tell him that he was successful in his plans. She was equally involved in this and wanted to reciprocate his love back to him, and knowing that he felt happy, warm and powerful at the same time.
"I'll help you with that." He whispered, as he began to unbutton his pants, leaning back on the bed, while she freed his legs of it.
Devoid of all clothes, he pulled her as she straddled on top of him, bending forward to reach out to his lips. "Khushi, always remember that I love you." He said, taking her one hand and placing it on top of his heart.
"I love you too, Arnav. Always'" Khushi replied, kissing his forehead, followed by his eyes as she hoisted herself down on him, allowing him to intrude her and carefully began a slow rhythm of their passionate love making, letting each other know just how much they felt loved by the other.
o0o
"Khushi, wake up for a minute." Arnav shook her shoulder, brushing away her hair from her face.
"What happened?" she asked in a confused voice, peeping through her sleepy eyes at his fully clothed state. The last time she had seen him, he had been lying naked beside her, their bodies entwined around each other.
"I have to go right now. I have some important work. I'll be back by evening. Okay?" he told her, kissing her cheek.
"What time is it?" she asked, noticing that it was still dark around her.
"It's 3:30 am. You continue sleeping." He said and patted her head.
"Okay. Come back soon. And take care of yourself." She held his arm.
"Yeah, I will. I promise." He replied, kissing her knuckles and soon got up, pulling the duvet over her naked torso, covering her up.
Walking out of the room, he picked up the bag full of loaded weapons lying on the sofa. It was going to be a long day ahead of him and he had to make sure he was fully prepared for it.
o0o
By 5 am, he had reached Aman's house and now, they were on their way to the Mahapaatra forest to rescue his family.
"Bhai, the tracks are around 10 kms away from the main junction. That bloody Shyam has chosen one of the most secluded parts of the forest. Hardly anyone passes through that way, except for this train." Aman informed him, sitting beside him inside the car.
"If we are lucky, the men must be still sleeping right now. We can attack them when they are least prepared. Can you see the black car that is following our car?" Arnav asked and Aman turned behind to look at the black car.
"There are four men in it. They owed me a favor for a past mission and hence, I decided to ask them to return the favor." Arnav said, concentrating on the huge sign board beside the road. They were now entering the jungle area and there was no looking back after this.
From the corner of his eyes, he could see Aman completely tensed, sitting on the edge of the seat.
"Aman, everything will be alright. Don't worry. Today will be a great day for us and you will be reunited with your family. And tomorrow is my wedding too. I will host a party for you tomorrow evening before I leave to Malaysia." Arnav smiled trying to cheer up his friend.
But somewhere Aman felt uneasy inside him. It was a strange foreboding feeling, as if he knew something was going to go really wrong. It wasn't that he didn't trust Arnav. He had confidence that his best friend would help him out. But however hard he tried to calm down himself, he couldn't. The whole plan seemed too simple to be executed that easily and their enemies too smart to be outwitted like this.
After twenty minutes of riding deep into the jungle, Arnav finally spotted the railway tracks and started going parallel along it. The sun had not yet risen and it was still dark all around them. But a faint early morning glow had begun to light up their entire surroundings, giving the jungle an ethereal look.
"There!" Aman suddenly pointed out at what seemed to be an old house ahead of them. Arnav glanced in the direction of his friend's hand and halted the car a few hundred metres away from the location. A couple of cars were also parked in front of that house.
"I guess that's the house." Arnav nodded and reached out to his phone to call his aides who were behind him and inform them about the next step of the plan.
"We have to go by foot from here. If we take the car closer, they will get alerted with the noise of the car engine. Here take these guns." Arnav said, pulling his weapon bag from the car seat behind them.
He took a couple of revolvers for himself, tucking it inside his pant and filled his pockets with a large number of cartridges. "Fit your gun with this silencer. We want to take them down before they even realize our presence." Arnav flashed an evil grin and got down from the car, followed by Aman.
"You!" he gestured to one of the men who had accompanied him in the other car. "I want you to take this rifle and aim from here, if things get out of control. Only Aman and I will enter the house. You have to take care of things from the outside. Once you are confirmed that his family is out of the house, only then you will start firing coz I don't want any of them to be injured in the process. Is that clear?" Arnav commanded them.
"Yes." The other person nodded his head and went to inform the other men.
"Are you ready?" he turned towards Aman and asked.
Aman silently nodded his head and inhaling a deep breath, they began walking towards the old house.
The entire area surrounding the house was eerily silent except for the sounds of birds chirruping their morning chores. No one was in sight in the front yard of the house and they realized that everyone was probably deep asleep. Stealthily tiptoeing across the yard, they reached the main door and tried to open it. But it was locked from the inside.
It was a really old fragile door and would have been easily knocked off with one kick from Arnav. But that would create too much of noise and things could go wrong any minute. "Go and check if there is a back door to this house and whether it is open." Arnav whispered to Aman, who followed his order and went behind the house.
Arnav walked backwards and scanned the entire two floored house from the outside. There were huge windows, but they were all grilled and it was impossible to enter through them. Suddenly, his eyes fell on the reddish brown tiles covering the roof.
"Bhai, there is a door, but it is locked too." Aman returned back disappointedly.
"Are you in a mood for climbing some trees and walls?" Arnav asked, pointing to house and before Aman could respond, Arnav ran to the huge mango tree that was hovering over the left part of the house and began climbing it.
It looked like his experience of climbing trees in his childhood eventually came to his aid. Thankfully, the branches of the old tree were strong enough to support the weight of a grown up adult and swinging from one branch to the other, Arnav finally jumped to the roof of the house and signaled Aman to come up the same path.
Lifting up one of the tiles, Arnav peeped inside it and found the area below it empty. It was an attic, just like he had guessed seeing the old design of the house. Removing a couple of tiles, he slid inside it while Aman followed him. The entire attic was dusty and dark, forcing Arnav to cough out loudly, gasping for fresh air. But he held his mouth tightly and controlled, lest anyone wake up hearing him. Taking out a pen torch from his pocket, he focused on the entire room, searching for a way out of it.
"Bhai, here's a door." Aman spoke in a whisper, pointing at a door on the floor.
Arnav bent down, placing his ear on the floor, to verify whether there were any movements below the door. But hearing nothing, he decided to take the risk.
Lifting the door upwards, he slowly peeped inside the room below and found it submerged with darkness.
Once again, he decided to use the torchlight to guide his way into the room. As he passed it over the entire room, he suddenly heard a gasp, a woman's gasp to be precise and Arnav felt his heart stop beating for an entire minute. There in one corner of the room, was Aman's mother, huddled beside a wall while Aman's sisters lay beside her deep asleep.
"Your Amma and sisters are here." Arnav said, turning back to Aman who was standing behind him.
"What?" Aman asked shockingly and pulling away Arnav from the door, he jumped straight into the room with a loud thud. Before his mother could scream out with panic at the unknown intruders, he went and held her mouth.
"Amma, it's me, Aman. I have come to rescue you all." He said, as tears rolled down his eyes. Hearing the noise, even his sisters woke up and nearly shouted when they saw Arnav jump down from the ceiling.
"Ssshhh' don't make any noise." Arnav said, his eyes immediately focusing on the door.
"Bhaiyya!" Aman's youngest sister Guddi, crawled towards her elder brother, as she started weeping holding on to him.
"Are you alright?" Aman asked, hugging her back and she silently nodded. It was indeed an emotional moment for the entire family. They had been away from him for three long months, not knowing whether they would even see the outside world ever again. And now, this was no less than a miracle for them.
"Amma, where is Babu?" Aman asked, wiping away his tears.
"Your Babu and your brother are in the room downstairs. But there are men in their room. They have guns." His mother replied worriedly.
"Aman, take them out of the house into the car. I'll go to rescue your father and brother." Arnav said, walking towards the door.
"But Bhai!" Aman protested.
"Do as I say." Arnav replied and tiptoed downstairs. After making sure that no one was in sight, he ushered Aman to follow him with his family and unlocking the main door, Aman rushed out of the house with his mother and sisters.
They had gone barely few metres out of the house, when Arnav suddenly heard a noise behind him and turning around, he found one of the men staring at him confusedly with his sleepy eyes. But before he could react, Arnav rushed towards him and taking out his pistol, shot that man right on his head, at point blank causing the man to drop down dead.
Walking over the dead body, he carefully opened the door of the room to his right and found five men deep asleep on the floor and chairs. He realized it wasn't the right room and closing the door back, he walked to the next room. And there he saw Aman's father and brother sleeping on the floor while two men slept at the entrance. Taking his gun, he once again shot both the men on their heads before they could wake up.
He walked towards the old man and shook him up. "Uncle wake up!" he said and both the men suddenly woke up with shock, to find Arnav hovering over them. "Get up and follow me." He said to the confused faces and held the old man's hand and led him out of the door. But before he could reach the door, he heard someone scream behind him loudly. "Ayy!!" and then, he heard bullets firing towards him.
"Run!" Arnav screamed to the old man and his son and taking out another gun from his pocket, he started firing back at that man with guns on both his hands simultaneously, as bullets whizzed through the air loudly from either sides of the door.
And then, mayhem began, as all the men in the house woke up and started firing at Arnav's direction.
He ran and ducked behind the car to defend himself and whistling out to his aides, a chaotic crossfire began, as men dropped down dead on the floor inside the house. After a few minutes of firing, an unnerving silence replaced the entire noise, as the remaining men in the house realized that they were outnumbered, seeing their dead counterparts. They realized that they were no match for Arnav and his aides.
Taking the opportunity, Arnav shot the tyres of their cars parked in the yard, deflating them so that they couldn't come after them and ran towards his car, before they could realise what happened. Once again gun shots were fired, as he ran through the forest and looking behind, he saw two men come running after him. But Aman had already started the car and was ready for him.
"Let's go." Arnav shouted to the other men and they started their cars and sped off away from the location. He looked out of the window and saw that the two men were still firing at their cars. So taking out his gun, he started shooting back at them and as they blurred away from his sight, he was pretty sure one of them was knocked down on the ground.
He looked back inside the car and found the entire of Aman's family huddled together in the back seat, their faces mixed with confusion and relief. He felt sorry for their state. They had been dragged into this mess with no fault of theirs and he vowed to himself that he would make that bloody Shyam pay for all the pain caused to them.
"Part one of our mission is done. Now part two." He said, looking at Aman who was visibly shaken with fear. "I told you I would do it." He added, patting his friend's shoulder and assured him. "Now, drive back to your house and stay with your family. I'm going after Shyam and that Das."
"No, Bhai. I'm coming with you. I want to kill Shyam with my own hands." Aman spoke through his gritted teeth as he turned around and saw the tear stricken faces of his family and Arnav silently nodded with approval.
o0o
Khushi sat on the dining table all alone, munching her breakfast. She was busy pondering over her court marriage that was to be held tomorrow, when her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door bell ringing. It was just 7:45 am and wondering who it could be, she walked to the door to open it.
"You?" she gasped, her eyes going wide at the sight of the man standing at the door, unable to decide about her reaction.
"Hello Dear! Surprise!" he flashed his evil grin and before she could react, her mouth was gagged as he twisted both her hands behind her back painfully.
"Shut up! And don't struggle!" he warned her as he forcefully plastered her mouth with the tape.
Khushi struggled against his strong grip, doing everything possible from her side to free herself from this vicious man, kicking him with her feet or trying to scratch his hands with her nails. But it was all futile as two more men joined him and before she knew it, she was dragged across the compound and dumped inside a car.
"Ssshh' Beautiful girls like you shouldn't cry." He said as he sat beside her and wiped away the furious tears streaming down her eyes with the tip of his index finger.
"You are feisty and tough. Now wonder that boy cannot stop himself from getting in your pants. I tried so hard to separate both of you, but every single time I failed. You two love birds make me repulse with disgust. This is just too much of love. How about we put an end to this? Huh?" he asked, raising his eyebrow and then, Khushi realised that she and Arnav were in a great danger.
CHAPTER 60
Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani
Indias Got Talent 11
Cricket
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